Ellie Herring: Why’d You

Lexington, KY producer Ellie Herring just released “Why’d You,” half of a double-single release out now via Race-Car Productions. We’re happy to have the stream here for you to listen to as well as some words from the artist herself about her work:

“Why’d You” started out as a little production attempt in using my own voice instead of finding a sample that I could manipulate into a track. Most of the time I get stuck in sampling land and I stay there for wayyy too long. Ditching that really freed me up to work on other elements of the track.

“Why’d You” is an upbeat number whose cadence makes me immediately recall the more lively Caribou tracks that I hold so dear. A vocal sample (“why’d you?”) is the center of a rhythmic-yet-spacey introduction which builds into a throbbing bass hum and a mix of spoken and giggling vocal fragments. My favorite part of the track is around 2:00 when the percussion drops out to reveal a patch of synth chords which sound almost like vocals à la Oneohtrix Point Never (before immediately plunging back into the furiously rhythmic segment). All in all, this is an interesting and invigorating track – my only complaint would be that I absolutely hate the crash cymbal sample Herring is using. Sounds like a toy drumset, man.

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No Smoking Media is a regularly updated and hand curated feed of music releases, free from hierarchical judgment and included regardless of press coverage. Our priority is for our readers to discover good, creative music that they might not otherwise hear, and for artists we admire to gain a wider audience and be recognized for their musical excellence.